HOT FLASHES: The Specials wrote a hit...

HOT FLASHES: The Specials wrote a hit song about him. Peter Gabriel usually dedicates a concert tune to him. Now black South African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, who’s been in jail for the past 20 years, is going to have his 70th birthday party in London’s Wembley Stadium. The tribute, scheduled for June 11, will feature performances by Whitney Houston, Dire Straits, Simple Minds and Harry Belafonte (with more guests to be named). It’ll also be broadcast worldwide by Radio Vision International. . . . Political benefits are also heating up on the local front. Just weeks after X’s Exene Cervenka hosted a fund-raiser for the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a local group called POP!, which backs fellow Democratic presidential contender Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.), has announced plans for a “Simon Series” of concert events. The first show, slated for April 5 at Osko’s “The Cave” club, will be headlined by Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs. . . . And for a behind-the-scenes look at the strange ways of the record industry, pick up a copy of the new issue of the Music Connection. It features the hard-luck tale of the Bus Boys, an early-’80s L.A. club sensation who made several albums for Arista Records and a spotlight appearance in the film “48 HRS” but never made the leap to stardom. The band is back with a new album--but what makes the magazine’s interview with band leader Brian O’Neal so fascinating is that it’s conducted by Connection editor (and former Arista A&R; exec) Bud Scoppa, who originally signed the group to Arista.